Silicon Valley Leaders in Federal Elections

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-126
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Campaign Contributions ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Election Commission

Chapter 3 examines one individual form of corporate elite political engagement—campaign giving. The chapter undertakes an in-depth look at the itemized federal campaign contributions of Silicon Valley CEOs and founders during the 2015–2016 federal election cycle. Relying upon publicly available Federal Election Commission data on individual contributions, the chapter answers questions including: How prevalent is campaign giving among the corporate elites on our SV150+ CEO and founder lists? Do these corporate elites give more or less than other sets of corporate elites? In their giving, are SV150+ CEOs and founders as Democratic as previous studies suggest they are? Are they indeed a new financial constituency of the Democratic Party? Are Silicon Valley corporate elites simply furthering their firms’ interests when they give, or are they “free agents” following their own, personal preferences?

The Political Geography of Campaign Finance: Contributions to 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (04) ◽  
pp. 688-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Sebold ◽  
Scott Limbocker ◽  
Andrew Dowdle ◽  
Patrick Stewart
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
The Political ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
Presidential Nomination ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Election Commission

AbstractIn fundraising, potential candidates who do not collect sizable amounts of “early money” may be effectively eliminated even before the start of the Iowa Caucus. This winnowing raises concern about the impact money has on narrowing the field of candidates from whom voters can choose. To better grasp patterns of successful fundraising, we explore where candidates obtain funds during the preprimary and primary periods. We use individual contributions data from the Federal Election Commission during the preprimary and primary periods of the 2008 Republican presidential nomination contest. Findings suggest that although California, New York, and Texas provide disproportionate amounts of early financing, the ability of presidential aspirants to broaden their support is indicative of campaign success.

Managed Health Care Companies' Lobbying Frenzy

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Watzman ◽  
Patrick Woodall
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Managed Care ◽  
Campaign Contributions ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Trade Associations ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
Congressional Committees ◽  
Managed Health Care ◽  
Election Commission

The top dozen national managed health care companies and two industry trade groups spent at least $2,023,041 on lobbying expenses and campaign contributions to key lawmakers during last year's health care debate, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data and federal lobbying disclosure forms. Five of the top six spenders are large insurance companies that are rapidly transferring their business from traditional indemnity insurance to HMOs. Over half—52 percent—of campaign donations from the top managed care companies' and trade associations' PACs and employees went to members sitting on the five Congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care reform.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 225-240
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
American Politics ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Future Work

Chapter 7 puts the book’s findings into context by exploring what they have to teach us about the role of the new corporate elite in American politics. The chapter outlines the approach taken in the book—namely, to document the engagement of Silicon Valley corporate elites through their firms, as individuals, and via associative forms. The chapter reviews the conclusions of the study, including the following: (1) the Silicon Valley corporate landscape is diverse when it comes to political engagement; (2) there is a top tier among the Silicon Valley firms and elites when it comes to expenditures on lobbying and elections; (3) most elites skew liberal even if their firms do not, and the philanthropic spending of elites supports a new liberal agenda. The chapter concludes by discussing limitations of this project and opportunities for future work.

Silicon Valley Firms in American Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-66
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Corporate Leaders ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Politically Active

Chapter 2 examines the firm-level form of corporate elite political engagement. It asks: Just how active are Silicon Valley companies in American (mostly national) politics? And what issues do they work on? The answers to these questions provide a context for founder and CEO activities (explored in later chapters). To be sure, these are important questions in and of themselves. But we ask them primarily to gather information that will allow us to address other questions about the behavior of Silicon Valley corporate elites. Among these questions are: Do politically active leaders come from politically active companies? Do Silicon Valley corporate leaders act like their companies—for example, do they address the same issues? Are corporate leaders simply extensions of the companies they run, or are they “free agents” who inject their own, personal views into the political process? Or are they a mixture of both of these? Chapter 2 presents data that help address these questions and others.

Teaching Campaign Finance with Federal Election Commission Resources

1987 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 14-15
Author(s):  
Clyde Wilcox
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Public Office ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
Campaigns And Elections ◽  
Student Projects ◽  
Election Commission

Many Political Science courses include sections on campaign finance activity. Courses on Congress and on the Presidency may include sections on the financing of elections for these offices, and courses on campaigns and elections will probably cover campaign finance. In addition, courses on interest groups and on parties may include sections that focus on the activities of these actors in financing campaigns for public office.The Federal Election Commission can provide an assortment of materials that may be useful in teaching about campaign finance. Some of these materials are most useful as sources of data for lecture preparation, while other offerings can be used as part of student projects or papers. In the sections below, these materials will be described, and some classroom uses will be suggested.

Disclosure and the Federal Election Commission

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Mutch
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Citizens United ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
Election Commission

The point of disclosure is to let voters see who is financing election campaigns. That was why the Supreme Court upheld the disclosure law in Buckley v. Valeo and Citizens United, and that was the purpose of the law when...

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